Live Connections or Extracts

Rationale

The VIZYUL Live Connections or Extracts best practice rule fires for each Workbook that has one or more live data connections.

Insight

The decision on whether to use live connections or extracts in the life cycle of authoring tableau dashboards can have a direct impact on your tableau experience and ultimately the experience of your intended audience.  At VIZYUL, tableau dashboard design happens in three phases; data discovery, cognitive clarity and dashboard refinement.  Each phase can have a wide variety of data needs.  However, once we’re happy with the final version of our dashboard, that’s when we look to trim the optimize live data connections and extracts for optimal performance.  Here are a few things to consider.

Data Discovery

In this phase, you’re not quite sure what data you’ll need for the final dashboard, so you explore various data sets with tableau.  In this phase, we recommend using the tableau Data Engine to create tableau Data Extracts.  Here’s why.  Using tableau data extracts reduces the the workload on corporate information data systems.  Tableau Data Extracts are phenomenally fast so performance is not a hindrance to your creativity.  Finally, tableau Data Extracts expose all of the wonderful features available in tableau desktop.  Some Live Data Connections limit the features in tableau desktop; like a live connection to a Microsoft Access database.

Cognitive Clarity

Now that you’ve seen and understood your data visually, you’re ready to fine tune the story being told by the data by visualizing it.  VIZYUL™ tableau authors use this phase to optimize the data sources including only the dimensions, measures and calculated fields needed to tell the visual story.  This is the ideal time in the evolution of your dashboard to begin to make decisions about the final type of data connections your dashboard will use.  Data connection types can have a dramatic impact on the overall performance of your dashboard.  Here are a few things to consider during this process.

  1. If the final Dashboard uses a high performance analytic data source? – Consider using a Live Data Connection
  2. If the final dashboard uses a data source with tons of data that you really don’t need for your dashboard?  – Consider using a tableau Data Extract
  3. Does your dashboard need real-time access to the data being visualized? – Consider using a Live Data Connection with custom query to pull only the data you need
  4. Does your dashboard only require a small portion of the data available in the data source? – Consider using a tableau Data Extract
  5. Have your tableau administrators setup data sources on a tableau server? – Consider using a live tableau server data connection

In our experience, the final decision on the appropriate type of data connection involves the data consumer (you) and the data provider (usually IT or the data management group).  So before you make the final decision on the type of data connection for your dashboard, it’s always a good idea to partner with IT to make sure your dashboard performs well over time.

Dashboard Refinement

Finally, it’s time to show your dashboard to the world!  YEAH!  The right data connection types used by your dashboard can mean the difference between a tableau experience people love and want to use or one that creates angst.

Action

  • Consider carefully whether to use live connections or extracts in your dashboards.
  • Consider the resources below

Additional Resources

Live or Extract Decision Making

  • http://www.tableau.com/learn/whitepapers/memory-or-live-data
  • http://www.tableau.com/about/blog/2014/7/understanding-tableau-data-extracts-part1
  • http://www.tableau.com/about/blog/2014/7/why-use-tableau-data-extracts-32187
  • http://www.tableau.com/tableau-data-extracts-part3
  • http://mindmajix.com/use-direct-connection-data-extract-tableau/
  • https://slalomdotcom.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-tableau-dashboards/

Getting Familiar with Tableau Data Connections

  • http://kb.tableau.com/articles/knowledgebase/export-data-connection
  • http://community.tableau.com/message/286629